


Tragedy Strikes

by Miranthia



Series: Project Apocalypse [12]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, F/F, Garmen, Project Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 20:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13107630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranthia/pseuds/Miranthia
Summary: "Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live." --Robert Kennedy





	Tragedy Strikes

The hot summer days were slowly beginning to taper off into cooler temperatures as the group continued on their journey north, though as far as they were concerned, fall couldn’t get there fast enough. Sweating your ass off day in and day out wasn’t exactly anyone’s idea of “fun”.

But then again, neither was freezing.

It was midday, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees surrounding them. They had made it into Oklahoma at last, four or five counties over the Texas/Oklahoma border. During one of their scavenging trips through the dense forest, Tod stumbled upon a dilapidated cabin. From the looks of it, it had been abandoned years before the world had gone to shit. While the building did not prove adequate shelter, they decided to make their camp there. If it was forgotten before, chances were it was still forgotten.

That was the ongoing hope anyway.

 

“Hey, have either of you seen where Griff went?”

“No, but she did go by like ten minutes ago. She said something about ‘foraging for rations in the wilderness,’ and ‘leading a horse to water.’” Tod snorted and shook his head, peeking an eye open to look up at the woman from his makeshift hammock. “Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

Carmen suppressed a grin, her eyes flickering briefly to Vi’s shaking from, the younger woman trying to keep her giggles quiet. “You know how she is Tod; baby girl thinks she’s the ultimate survivor.”

“Yeah, except she can’t tell the difference between-“

“Yes?”

Tod gulped and laughed nervously, sitting up abruptly, almost dislodging himself. “Just kidding Car! Just kidding. I’m sure Shorty is just fine, she’ll be back here before you know it.”

Carmen smiled slightly and nodded, the unease knotting in the pit of her stomach.

She cared a lot more than she was keen to let on about.

However that was a battle that she lost miserably, especially now.

 

Thirty minutes later, there was still no sign of Griff, and Carmen was becoming even more worried. She paced back and forth slowly, drumming her fingers on the side of her arm, her eyes flickering towards the trees every fifteen seconds. Tod was still snoozing in his hammock, and Vi was tending to the horses. Both of them were seemingly unaffected by the disappearance of their youngest companion, which grated on Carmen’s nerves just a tad more than she expected.

But of course she would never say anything, because she was a stoic, badass woman that pushed petty things like feelings to the back of her mind!

Nobody had time for that.

_She should have been back by now._

_Something’s wrong._

_What if she’s hurt?_

_What if she’s been kidnapped?_

_What if she’s been attacked?!_

_What if she’s de- don’t even think that._

Carmen took in a deep breath and shook her head, continuing her subconscious pace. She had no reason to worry, Griff was fine. She could handle herself, and she knew to be careful. She probably found something interesting or an animal to play with and just lost track of time. She did get distracted easily after all.

Yes, that was definitely it.

An ear-piercing shriek cut through the clearing like a knife, shattering the peace as well as Carmen’s heart. She staggered to a halt, her breath catching harshly in her throat as her eyes darted to the direction the scream came from, tears beginning to well up in them. Tod moved so fast that he flipped himself out of the hammock, but was on his feet in a flash, Vi appearing next to him just as quickly.

All three of them stood there for a moment, staring at the same tree in disbelief and silence.

“Was that…?”

“Don’t.”

Before another word could be said, a sob ripped itself from Carmen’s throat, the woman dashing towards the figure that had just emerged from the trees. She skid to a halt, barely managing to catch the blonde as she stumbled into Carmen’s arms, the two sinking to their knees to rest in the leaves beneath their feet.

“Griff? Griff honey are you alright? Speak to me, please!”

The younger woman’s eyes were open wide in terror, an unspeakable horror still playing before them. Tremors were making their way through her body, her skin as white as a sheet and clammy to the touch. She gave no indication that she was aware of the others, or that Carmen was frantically trying to check her for injuries, the older woman’s hands shaking and her brow creased in worry.

“I….I couldn’t save her…” she finally said quietly, her voice as rocky as her quaky body.

“Couldn’t save who, baby? Are you hurt? Where’s Piccadilly?”

“A group of those things had surrounded her and I couldn’t…..I just watched while…”

“Hey hey Pixie, there wasn’t anything that you could have done so don’t do that to yourself. Are you hurt?” Tod crouched down next to the two, Vi taking it upon herself to keep watch in case any baddies stumbled and grumbled their way. “Did they get you, Griff?”

She slowly shook her head, horror-stricken eyes still fixated on nothing in particular. “She was so beautiful. Mint condition. Perfectly restored…”

Vi halted her search and groaned aloud, dropping the branch she had in her hand to rest her forehead in it instead. “Oh Lord.”

Carmen stared at the woman before her blankly, Tod falling back in the leaves to laugh uncontrollably in his hands. The older woman paid them no heed, her expression becoming stonier by the second as she glared at Griff, anger boiling just underneath the surface. “A car. You’re talking about a car?”

Griff gasped in horror and clutched her chest, finally snapping her eyes to Carmen’s face, pain and disbelief contorting her own into an agonized frown. “You take that back! A ’67 Shelby Mustang GT 500 is not _just_ a car, it’s anything **but** that!! My first car…”

“I thought you didn’t even have your license?”

“That is beyond the point, sir!”

“KC wrecked it.” Vi whispered to Tod, the two glancing at each other quickly while Griff raved on and on about the vehicle.

“It was just beyond that barn out back, nestled all cozy like amid some bushes, the sun glinting off of the paint. Midnight blue, with silver flecks. Just gorgeous.” She snorted and frowned in disgust, everyone watching her dramatic display with interest. “And then a group of those things ambled up out of nowhere and started dancing around it, like they were part of some cult and it was their shrine. They kept getting closer to it, and then AND THEN….” she broke off and sniffed broken heartedly, her entire face pouting. “One of them put a scratch down the side of it, and mucked it up with it’s nasty, icky, gooey, rotting self……then giggled and they all moaned and groaned away. It was terrible.”

Up until this point Carmen still had her hold on the blonde, more or less unaware of the fact. Now that Griff had spilled the beans she was all aware of the fact, and now she just needed to get away. Though when she tried to get up, Griffon held on to her hands. “Don’t. I can’t talk to you right now; I kind of hate you at the moment.”

“Wait, what? Why?” Griff looked at her in disbelief, her heart sinking horribly into the pit of her stomach. “What else could I have been talking about?”

“A person?” she said heatedly, still trying to get up. “Piccadilly?”

“Picca-? Oh no, she’s fine, she’s…” The horse in question ambled up to them, snorting disdainfully at Griff as she passed by, flicking the blonde with her tail. “Ouch. Oh…..aha….” she giggled sheepishly, the reality of the situation finally dawning on her and she shrank back from Carmen, shame seeping into her being. “Shit Carmen, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to….wait a minute!” Griff sat up straight and grinned, an eyebrow arching as her eyes sparkled mischievously. “You were worried about me, weren’t you? You were scared!”

“ _WHAT_?! **Me**? Scared? In your dreams, baby girl.” Carmen snorted incredulously, finally managing to extricate herself from the younger woman, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

“I thought you weren’t talking to me.” Griff teased. “Hey wait, where are you going?”

“Come on, the scratch might buff out and the good thing about muck is that it can be washed off. Might as well get this over with now, or I’ll never hear the end of this stupid car.”

Griff sprang to her feet in a single bound, squealing excitedly as she dashed off after her, knowing that this was just a way for the two to cope. Even though Carmen hid it well, Griff knew she fucked up horribly, and that was going to tear at her for a while. She didn’t like making anyone upset, least of all Carmen. Griff would be trying her damndest to make it up to her in the following days and weeks, but one thing was for certain.

Carmen was going to get her back for it, one way or another.

And it would be when Griff least expected it.

Pay backs were a bitch.


End file.
